Woman, 30, undergoes surgical procedure after consuming 8 nails that blocked her intestines

A lady needed to endure surgical procedure after swallowing eight nails that lodged themselves in her intestines, threatening to pierce them.

The 30-year-old was admitted to hospital after experiencing extreme abdomen ache.

The affected person was already below psychiatric care and had a historical past of swallowing objects, as she had pica – a well being dysfunction the place an individual compulsively craves and swallows non-food objects. She additionally had as an nervousness dysfunction.

“This was her sixth episode of foreign body ingestion in the past year,” wrote Dr Bhoowit Lerttiendamrong, from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, in BMJ Case Reports.

Doctors overseeing the lady have been fearful the sharp metallic nails would perforate her organs. 

Dr Lerttiendamrong stated: “Intentional foreign body ingestion is often seen in patients with psychiatric disorders, advanced age, intoxication, developmental delays or incarceration.

“Approximately 80 per cent of ingested foreign bodies pass spontaneously in both adult and paediatric patients.

“However, endoscopic management should be considered in cases involving sharp-pointed objects.

“Sharp objects pose a particular challenge due to the increased risk for perforation, necessitating extreme caution during removal.

“Nails are especially difficult to remove endoscopically due to their sharp, irregular shapes, which can make them hard to grasp and may require surgical intervention.”

The medical staff initially selected to observe the lady, within the hope the nails would go by means of her digestive system on their very own.

She underwent scans each 12 hours, which confirmed “multiple nails” had lodged themselves in her higher stomach. 

“Repeat imaging demonstrated progressive migration of the nails from the mid-abdomen to the right lower quadrant, ultimately clustering near the ileocaecal valve.”

This is the sphincter muscle between the tip of the small gut and the beginning of the massive one.

After 4 days of little motion, the medical staff elected to take away the nails with a colonoscopy.

All eight of the nails have been efficiently eliminated.

Thankfully, the lady had solely suffered “superficial abrasions” to the liner of her gut.

Dr Lerttiendamrong instructed Medpage Today: “It’s pretty rare to have a foreign body that goes all the way down to the lower GI system, and even rarer that sharp foreign bodies go down that far.”

The psychiatry division was consulted on her case, however regardless of their advice that she be admitted, the lady “adamantly” refused, in line with the case report.

There have been no additional problems after the colonoscopy, and the affected person is being adopted up with as an outpatient.